Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,197 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,320 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.4% of Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $60,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Harbor Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% during the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.25 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $427.02 and a 200 day moving average of $428.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.